Yemeni immigrants in a transit camp near Haifa, Israel, 1949-1950. Photos by Robert Capa.Over 50,000
Yemeni immigrants in a transit camp near Haifa, Israel, 1949-1950. Photos by Robert Capa.Over 50,000 Yemenite Jews immigrated to Israel between 1949 and 1950, largely in response to civil war, economic straits, anti-Jewish riots, and persecution in their home country. Of those who survived the difficult journey from Yemen to Israel, the majority arrived in Israeli transit camps in poor health, frequently with malaria, trachoma, or tuberculosis. Before being transferred to permanent housing, they lived in squalid conditions—there was no steady supply of electricity and water, the density was high, and piles of trash and open sewerage were common. The camps’ unsanitary conditions and lack of sufficient food exacerbated the spread of diseases and mortality among refugees, to which infants were particularly vulnerable. -- source link